Resistance Then, Resist Now! @ Arlington West, Oct. 25th

The Ash Grove Honors 45th Anniversary of The Resistance -
a meeting of the resisters of the military draft and Veterans For Peace

The Ash Grove Foundation in its ongoing series of “Beyond November” community events will honor the 45th Anniversary of The Resistance draft resisters movement with “Resistance Then, Resist Now!” on Sunday, October 25th at Arlington West in Santa Monica, 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. The event also honors Arlington West and Veterans for Peace. Arlington West is a temporary memorial erected every Sunday on the beach by Veterans For Peace, immediately north of the Santa Monica Pier: http://www.arlingtonwestsantamonica.org/.

The Resistance was an organization of draft resisters founded in 1964 and quickly grew nationally. The actual anniversary date and gathering of original members of The Resistance will take place the previous day on Saturday, October 24th.

Resistance Then, Resist Now! brings together the original Resisters and current Veterans For Peace, emceed by famed peace activist, Veteran Ron Kovic who became disabled in the Vietnam War.

Kovic was profiled in the film Born On The Fourth of July, based on his memoir and the inspiration for Jane Fonda’s film Coming Home.

Two groups of speakers will be framed by cultural presentations: spiritual drumming from the S.H.I.N.E. Mawusi women’s drum alliance and members of the ADAAWE women’s percussion group (http://adaawemusic.com/); Get Lit Players - teenage wizards with poetry from the sonnets of Shakespeare to hip-hop - who tour Southern California school assemblies, also competing nationally in contests and a drum circle will conclude the event. (One or two additional special music guests TBA.)

The speakers on the first 20-minute panel will focus on The Resistance, then and now. Guests include: Joe Maizlish from The Resistance, a US Marine currently in Iraq and a speaker from Committee Against Militarism in the Schools. The second 20 minute panel will focus on the war budget and poverty draft with historian and unionist Gordon Alexandre. CSULA student Anitra Wetzel will speak of problems facing students in today’s skewed economy, and a public health advocate will address “It’s Healthcare or Warfare.”

The Ash Grove (1958 – 1973) on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood was a pioneering musical and political venue. The performance standards and creative interplay among musicians, young and old, produced many great artists, enriched the lives of audiences, and gave the club a leading role in the culture of a generation. Archived Ash Grove concerts from that era are available for listening or download at WolfgangsVault.com. “Beyond November – Party with a Purpose” – brings together an assortment of artists, advocacy and social action organizations, to entertain, to inform and to enthuse by tapping into the vast energy for positive change sparked by the November elections.